On This Day, August 31: Lum and Abner
Also featured: Bing Crosby, Popeye.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across Pine Ridge rural Arkansas humor, daytime vocal duet showcases, juvenile comic strip adaptations, and Western police procedurals, Chester Lauck and Norris Goff in three classic Lum and Abner broadcasts (1944, 1948), Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney with Buddy Cole's trio (1962), Floyd Buckley voicing Popeye the Sailor for Wheatena (1936), and Joel McCrea in Tales of the Texas Rangers (1936–1962):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Telling Lum About the Store Charges with Chester Lauck and Norris Goff" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1944-08-31 8:15 PM EWT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer / One-A-Day |
Chester Lauck, Goff | Lauck & Goff (Writers) | ["Comedy", "Rural", "Lum and Abner", "Alka-Seltzer", "NBC Blue"] |
Abner nervously breaks the news to Lum that local townsfolk have run up unauthorized credit accounts at the Jot 'Em Down Store. |
| "Abner Calls Lum from St. Louis with Chester Lauck and Norris Goff" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-31 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Rural Comedy |
Chester Lauck, Goff | Lauck & Goff (Writers) | ["Comedy", "Rural", "Lum and Abner", "Chester Lauck", "CBS"] |
Abner makes a long-distance telephone call from St. Louis to Pine Ridge to update Lum on big-city hotel prices. |
| "Abner's Middle of the Night Call with Chester Lauck and Norris Goff (Master 2)" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-31 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Rural Comedy |
Chester Lauck, Goff | Lauck & Goff (Writers) | ["Comedy", "Rural", "Lum and Abner", "Chester Lauck", "CBS"] |
Lum gets awakened in the middle of the night by an operator connecting another frantic long-distance update from Abner in St. Louis. |
| "Misplaced Person with Joel McCrea (Syndicated Remote)" | Syndicated Remote 1952-08-31 |
Sustaining Western Police Drama |
Joel McCrea, Ensemble | Stacy Keach Sr. (Director) | ["Western", "Police Procedural", "Joel McCrea", "Texas Rangers", "Syndicated"] |
Texas Ranger Jace Pearson uses forensic ballistics and tyre tracks to clear an innocent ranch hand accused of shooting a cattle foreman. |
| "Baby, Don't You Go Away Mad with Buddy Cole" | CBS (WCBS) 1962-08-31 11:30 AM EDT |
Sustaining Daytime Vocal Show |
Crosby, Rosemary Clooney | Buddy Cole Trio | ["Music", "Pop", "Vocal", "Bing Crosby", "Rosemary Clooney"] |
Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney sing vocal duets and jazz arrangements including Baby, Don't You Go Away Mad backed by Buddy Cole's trio. |
| "The Heroes Return with Floyd Buckley and Olive Oyl" | CBS (WABC) 1936-08-31 7:15 PM EDST |
Wheatena Corp. Wheatena Cereal |
Floyd Buckley, Lamoy | Victor Irwin Orchestra | ["Children", "Comics", "Adventure", "Popeye", "Wheatena"] |
Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy return home to a hero's welcome in Sweethaven after surviving deep-sea pirate adventures. |